Yeah, but there a deal more gradient and camber in a much shorter space so it will be completely different to drive.

Me too.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Lets not debate which rider ended Marco's life. It happened, the more concerning thing is the way Marco came across the track like he did, maybe some kind of equipment failure??

He lost the front and tried to hold it on his knee and elbow. Usually what would happen is bike and rider would slide off straight (to the left hand side of the track), which would have been out of the way in this instance. Unfortunately, it seems the front found a bit of grip and it carried on in an arc to the right.

Quote from GreyBull [CHA] :

What does the FIA have to do with this anyway? As far as I know they're not sanctioning IndyCar or any other major American racing championship.

Perhaps they should be involved. No need for them to sanction or draw up rules, but why not share data and expertise on safety?

Dreadful. Really shocking news. Heartbreaking to watch his father's statement.

I don't think DRS is particularly relevant. It does not really increase the ultimate top speed in most cases as they end up bouncing off the limiter - just the same as a good slipstream.

Even if they go 20mph quicker, these guys are supposed to be the best in the world. It's not the biggest crime the world has ever seen, but deserved a small penalty.

Quote from samjh :

The T2-3 straight is the prime overtaking location on this track, and doesn't need the DRS.

The detection zone should be between T16-17, and activation on the exit of T18 onto the pit straight. That way, a driver can close the gap to T1, and then hope to overtake naturally after T2. It also provides an opportunity to pass on the pit straight with an epic fight to retake position along T2-3.

Wasted opportunity, IMHO.

T4's a good spot to overtake too, so i guess the feeling is if they can get drivers worried and defending at T3 then there's another straight and tight T4 for them to hoon it out.

Quote from BlueFlame :

Although this comment from Hamilton riled me, I sat back and then understood he's talking as-if to say 'cheeky monkeys' which would insinuate he's talking about mid and rear pack opportunistic driving, which we can all relate to. He wasn't refering to the back pack drivers and teams as idiots or untalented. But because of how he entered F1 people took it out of context. Myself included, but then I thought, why would he say it maliciously? Maybe others should think like this too.

Not maliciously, dismissively.

Quote from Intrepid :

Do you know anything at all about Hamilton, or do you just crib other people's opinions from a position of rank ignorance?

Stop being a hypocrite.

I sighted Senna because a lot of what was written about him at the time didn't reflect his true character. And had we had the internet now it would have been even worse. Plenty of people, at the time, had a massive dislike for Senna and HIS character. Time has eroded that though.

I pointed out an example where Hamilton revealed his true character a few posts above.

You described Senna as a "ferocious person", you didn't say that it was an inaccurate perception from the media - that's what you thought of him. I think you're arguing with yourself now.

Let me know how that goes.

Quote from Intrepid :

Senna a 'pleasant' person? Take your rose tinted glasses off. Senna was a ferocious person. He drove Prost off the circuit deliberately ffs, and he wasn't largely liked by the public outside of Brazil because they thought he was a nobhead.

Had the internet and media network we have now existed in the 80s and 90s they would have destroyed Senna.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXjyRet40tQ

1:00 in.

Do you know anything at all about Senna, or do you just crib other people's opinions from a position of rank ignorance? Have you read Sid Watkins' opinion of him for example - someone who actually knew him, which is what we're talking about rather than Joe Public's perception.

I assume you also think Schumacher was a humourless robot when he was hoovering up titles year after year?

Quote from DieKolkrabe :

Also, consider the fact that all through his career, McLaren have supported him and he's been in consistently good equipment. Does he know what it is like to be in a bad car?

He did have a dog of a car in early 2009, but even that ended up winning. What Hamilton hasn't had is decent grounding in F1 - straight into a top team, even if the car has not always been a winner.

I think Ron Dennis is to blame for this. Hamilton was given all the right moves going up the ladder and then landed a championship challenging car in his first year. Alarm bells started ringing for me when, in his first year, he referred to the "monkeys at the back" when talking about backmarkers. I wonder if he would have been better off being placed into a lower order team (Spyker, or whoever were around back then) to learn his trade and appreciate that the drivers in the worst team work a good deal harder than the front runners just to keep their cars on the track.

Sure, he would not have won 2008 WDC had that happened, but he could have reaped the benefits (and the titles) for years to come and perhaps become a more rounded and pleasant individual (see Button, or Alonso, or Hakkinen, or Senna etc)

... but they did in 1997. Took all of them off him.

Quote from sinbad :

I think if you thought any midfield runner was intentionally trying to run someone off the road, it wouldn't be hard to penalise them. You'd give benefit of the doubt, but surely these are the things that the rules are there to stop happening, not encourage. Protect the one getting run off the road, not the one doing the running off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v ... RhOEY&feature=related
The only difference is that where Rubens keeps going because of the pit exit, Button lifts because his only other option was recently mown. MSC was punished.

Not saying I agree with the situation, but that's what it is.

.. but you also have to look at all the chaos in the midfield at the start of a race and apply the rule equally to them. That's the difficulty.

Except that McLaren operate a two year development cycle using different design teams (or at least they did) and their cars have recently been off the pace out of the box.

It's not as simple as designing a new part for next year and then just slotting it onto this year's car. It's also naive to think that Newey won't have something else up his sleeve for next year.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Well, Button might. Hamilton wouldn't stand a chance.

But let's not forget that Vettel is quite probably the best racing driver ever...

My sarcasm detector is beeping!

Button is slowly but surely swinging the team to him. He is so obviously comfortable in his own skin compared to Lewis and I would imagine he is much easier for team members to build relationships with. I'm not sure how all the troops in the trench at McLaren react to Lewis "The Shizzle Dizzle" Hamilton and all his celebrity friends. No one likes a Billy Big Boots.

The Vettel/Button move and the Hamilton/Massa are not the same, but there's little point in trying to explain is there?

I think with 15 laps to go Dario had 15 push to pass and Ed had 8.

Quote from BlueFlame :

I'll just slam on early in LFS and admins will give YOU a DT. Ok, it's an exaggeration, but there's a line between blocking/defending and just trying to wreck anothers race.

I'm not saying Hamilton didn't make a mis-judgement, I'm saying he made LESS of a mis-judgement, given that Massa lifted on the apex.

What has "slamming on" got to do with anything? If you don't have an argument then don't post.

It's also irrelevant. It was Massa's corner and he is entitled to drive it at a speed that he chooses. Should everyone who block passes in motorsport be banned?

Quote from BlueFlame :

Well, I expect nothing else from Ferrari to be honest, they see Hamilton as a target for an easy DT or penalty, and use it against him by lifting on the apex of corners etc

Have you ever participated in sport at any sort of serious level?

This is just sound tactics - Ferrari exploiting a flaw in the opposition. At the very least Hamilton is out of position and as it happened his flaw was exposed and he ruined his own race.

This happens in all sports. Darts players may slow their play to disrupt their rival's rhythm. Footballers will wind up a known psychopath on the other team to provoke a reaction. Cricketers sledge - Rod Marsh famously tried to wind up Ian Botham by asking him, "How's your wife and my kids?"

You do what it takes within the rules to win.

I assume you're banning TC then?

Or more accurately, it sounds like this:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-v ... -m5-video-review-feature/

I'm getting the E60 next year, then straight down the Chav shop to make it sound like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fumMvKUFXl8

Trouser stiffening.

Playing stuff through the stereo is not new - it's usually used to cancel out wind roar etc. The new McLaren doesn't use the stereo to "emotionally enhance" the driving experience, but they did change the design to naturally filter more noise into the cabin.

Quote from Boris Lozac :

Vettel and Red Bull are killing this season, so predictable.

No, they are not. Ferrari, McLaren and Webber are at fault for not providing a stronger challenge.

Nick is their second driver, so in a team needing sponsorship he can expect to be vulnerable.

Good chance to see what, if anything, Bruno has.